Telephone
by Pearlshipping Vault Collective
Summary: Two sides of a phonecall, a boy and a girl. Two sets of emotions that can be so different yet so similar. Pearlshipping, Ash and Dawn's POV, feat. Hikatoshi27 and CherryCheer.


**Telephone**

( **Dawn's PoV)**

The sound of the phone ringing is echoing through the house until I pick it up with a smile. I already knew who it would be and all I had to do was say one word.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dawn! You knew I was gonna call you, huh?" His voice buzzed through the phone and tickled my ear. I let out a giggle and my smile widened. "Of course I did!" I said, twiddling the phone cord through my fingers. "Don't you always?"

I get a call from him at exactly 5 o'clock every day after school. We take a break from phone calls at weekends because we hang out together in town. You might have guessed, but yes, we are best friends. Always have been, for as long as I can remember at least.  
"Of course I do!" He replies, repeating what I had said cutely. "I never forget."

I giggled again at what he said. "Yeah, what about that time when it was Misty's birthday?" I managed to say, trying to sound casual. "W-What?! No way, I didn't do that!" Oh yes he did. I stood by the phone for two hours waiting for him to call me, but he never rang. I tried calling him, for a change, and I got an answer... from the answer machine. I remembered what it sounded like as well.

"Sorry, I'm having too much fun with my Pokémon and my best friend to answer the phone right now. Call me back later!"

That's what I heard each time, every ten minutes, it was the same. I also heard my laughter in the background as he said that message from the answering machine. It made me feel really down, just shows how bad I feel when I don't see him for just a day.

"Dawn...? You still there?" He asked, sounding concerned and it made me jump. "Oh, yeah! I'm fine, no need to worry. Sorry, I was just...thinking." I cleared my throat, deciding to get back to the subject. "Anyway, you did forget. Just that one time, Ash Ketchum!" "I called you afterwards, honest! You didn't pick up though."

I scoffed but smiled. "I didn't pick up because you probably rang at 11 at night! You just managed to spare a minute after the party." Misty's birthday party was about a week ago. Everyone was invited, except me. I've had bad times with Misty and don't get along with her very well. It wasn't a shock that I didn't get invited. The fact that Ash got to go without me made a strange feeling suddenly appear. "You're jealous, Dawn? I knew you would be!" Misty said walking off snickering to herself.

I wouldn't go to the extent of saying she bullies me. We just don't get along and have the occasional squabble. I think both of us know better and stay away from each other. Although after hearing that, I just poured it out to my mom. "Jealousy is simply a mixture of love and hate, Dawn dear." She told me and it had me thinking. "We all experience it at some point." I thought about what Mom told me. Love? I didn't love Ash, at least not in that way. May thinks I do and it gets on my nerves. Hate? I don't hate Misty, or Ash. It didn't make sense but Mom said that I would understand eventually.

I snapped out of my trail of thoughts when I heard Ash's voice through the phone.  
"Look, Dawn I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you! How about we head out after school tomorrow?" He offered and I couldn't bring myself to deny. "Just you and me?"

"Yes! I mean, sure thing. I'd really like that..."

"Great! Well then, I'll see you tomorrow!"

"But I-"

Beeeeeeeepp...

"He hung up."

So, the plans were settled. I was going to meet him at the top of the stairs which led to our school. I had to walk all the way from Geography but I didn't care. I had seen Ash a lot during the day but nothing beats spending time with him properly. I reached the doors in a short amount of time, mainly because I was running. I had forgotten about Iris, but my mind was too focused on meeting Ash. Even until now I get over-excited about seeing him to go somewhere. He always takes me places that I like; it's as if he knows that I'll enjoy it.

Soon, I caught sight of him rushing towards me. Waving a hand in the air and calling out to me. He reaches me still holding his arm high above his head. A smile spread across my face as I copied his actions. Our hands met when we shared a high five. "You ready to get going?" Ash asked, flashing me a grin and returning his arm to his side. I did the same and nodded. "Only thing is... I don't know where we are going."

He laughed and the sound caused my smile to grow. "You'll find out when we get there."  
Ash took my hand and led the way out of the school grounds. I quickened my pace to walk beside him, still hand in hand. We stayed like that all the way there and anyone would assume we were a couple at first glance. That thought gave me a nice feeling. It was a hot day in July and the weather was warm and very humid, so the feeling I got didn't make my body feel any better. Ash gently dragged me forward and stopped a moment later. "Well, here we are." He said happily.

I beamed as I looked around where we stood. He had led me to Amity Square, and I was so caught up in my thoughts on the way that I hadn't been paying attention to which way we were heading. "I know, it's here again." Ash said with a small smile. I shook my head and squeezed his hand. "I don't mind, you know I love it here!" I assured. He nodded and grinned. "So, shall we take a walk around?"

"Yes!"

That's what we did, enjoying each other's company just like always. Our footsteps were in sync as we walked in Amity Square at a steady pace. I kept the smile on my face as Ash did the same. Both of us stopped at the fountain and laughed at our similar actions. Suddenly Ash's stomach rumbled, causing us to laugh harder. "Hey, why don't we get something to eat?" He asked sheepishly. "How does some ice cream sound?" I said, peering over his shoulder to get a glance at the ice cream stall behind him. "Now you're talking!"

"When you're hungry you're sad, and when you're sad you're hungry." I winked, stirring up a little poem. Ash blinked at me. "But...I'm not sad, because you're here Dawn!" I could feel my cheeks heating up and I tried to resist it. "Th-Thank you, Ash." He pulled me over to the ice cream stall and asked for two cones. He handed one to me with a wide smile.

"Here Dawn, it's on me."

I took it slowly and returned the smile. We went over to a bench and sat on it to eat our snack. Ash seemed to be taking his time for some reason but I ate mine rather quickly. I giggled as the coldness of the ice cream rushed through me. "Gee, Dawn. You were hungry too, right?" Ash said.

I didn't answer his question, because I was busy staring at what was on the other side of the fountain. I jumped out of my seat, nearly knocking Ash's arm. I stared blankly at the ground for a moment before entering reality again. "Y-Yeah...?" I muttered, blinking a few times. Ash didn't get a chance to reply because we were very rudely interrupted.

"Well, if it isn't Dawn."

I jolted my head to glare at the person before me. "Ursula!" "You got that right, Dee Dee." She smirked. "Funny see you and your little friend here." "Hey!" Ash and I shouted in unison. Ursula could only laugh at this.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked through gritted teeth. "I couldn't help but notice your blue head bobbing about, so I decided to come over and tell you about my new boyfriend!" My eyes widened slightly but I snickered. "You...? Have a boyfriend?!" Ursula shot me a death-glare. "As if you can talk!"

We carried on bickering and I saw Ash watching us out of the corner of my eye. I assumed he was feeling rather awkward now. I was too busy arguing with Ursula to notice another person heading towards us. There was a tap on my shoulder and I spun around with a frown.  
"What?" I blurted out angrily, but I suddenly gasped shortly afterwards. "...Paul?!"

"You're 'Dawn', right?" He muttered with a bitter tone. I scowled but nodded slowly. "I-Is something wrong?" "Can I talk to you…In private?" He asked and it caught me by surprise.

"Huh?!" Ash and Ursula shouted simultaneously. "What do you want from her, Paul?" Ash asked, and it seemed like he was being a little resentful. I shrugged off their reactions and turned to Paul with a grin on my face. I noticed Ursula's expression and sent a sneaky smirk in her direction. Almost everyone in the school knows about her former crush on Paul. I think she has gotten over it by now. She must have, it's been a year now! Wait... crush?

"Sure, Paul. Let's go." I said, my smile growing as I take hold of his arm.

Then, Ursula blew it. "Dawn Berlitz! Get back here!" I could only laugh at her childish behavior as Paul and I walked further away. He led me over to a tree at the foot of a hill. We sat down under it, in the shade with a breeze occasionally blowing by.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?" I asked, my eyes shining with curiosity. He took a deep breath and exhaled, then looked me in the eye. "Dawn... would you ever… would you go out with me?"

A few moments later, I rushed over to Ash who was waiting for me. Ursula was still there surprisingly, and gave me an odd look as I ran faster. Ash stood up and walked over to me, Ursula slowly followed behind. I was smiling insanely as I stared into Ash's eyes. "Dawn, what happened?" Ash asked with a hint of worry in his voice. My smile only grew after hearing this. "Oh, Ash... you won't believe it!" I said, seeming a little too excited.

He raised his eyebrows at my reaction. "What is it?" "Yeah, spill it Dawn!" Ursula pitched in, eyeing my every move. I glanced around quickly but Paul was nowhere to be found. I frowned and wondered where he was. I didn't really care at that moment because I was too excited. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Ash's voice again. "Dawn, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! Couldn't be better! Sorry... come on Ash, let's go!" I said hastily. I grabbed his arm and sped down the path. We were out of Amity Square in no time. Luckily, Ursula didn't follow us and I breathed a sigh of relief. I noticed Ash's expression and I grew worried. "Ash... what's wrong?" I asked, slowly moving closer.

"I should be asking you that question Dawn." He replied, scratching the back of his head with one hand. "You seem a little jumpy." "Me? Jumpy? I have every reason to be."

The sun must have heard my words because it suddenly seemed warmer than it was a few minutes ago. I fanned myself with my hand but it didn't cool me down. Ash and I walked over to a tall building to stand in the shade. It didn't help. I had always heard about the feeling of having Butterfrees in my stomach from some of my friends. I never understood what they were talking about, but I think I just figured it out. I started fidgeting awkwardly as I tried to think of the best way to tell Ash. He kept staring at me which only made it worse.

"Ash, about earlier..." I mumbled, looking at the ground instead of him. I saw him nod and I took a deep breath, and then I grinned. "Oh, Ash! He asked me out... on a date! Can you believe it? I still can't...!" I giggled and felt the weight lift off my shoulders.

I waited to see what he said. I smiled from ear to ear. Then I saw that Ash still had his ice cream in his hand. It has melted all over and it dripped, making splodges when it hit the ground. Ash was taking a while to say something, maybe he was so overjoyed for me that he was lost for words.  
"Um, Ash?" I said as I waved one hand in front of his face. His eyes were wide and staring at something. I turned around to see what was there. A wall. Something was wrong, he didn't do stuff like that often. I took his hat off and whacked him gently on his forehead with it. "Ash, say something!" Could he not hear me? I placed his hat back on his head and he finally snapped out of his state. He sighed heavily, causing me to flinch slightly. "I'm okay..." Ash muttered.

I smiled at him as brightly as I could. "That's good, but I think we should head back now." I suggested, glancing at the time. 5:30pm... "Yeah, we should." He agreed, nodding his head slowly.

"Oh, Ash?"

Ash appeared dazed as he looked up and said "Hmm?"

"Your ice cream..."

An hour later I was in my room dancing about in circles, thinking of all the things that happened. Ash and I had said our goodbyes, by the lamppost like we always do. I looked at my calendar and drew a star on today's date. It had to be the best Friday ever! Then my mind turned around and I suddenly stopped. "Why am I making such a fuss over nothing?" I questioned myself. I groaned and fell back on my bed. I reached for the phone and dialed the number as fast as I could. As I waited for her to pick up, I swayed side-to-side with a smile on my face. Hopefully May's reaction would be better than Ash's.

"Hello, this is Floaroma Town Contest Hall... how may I be of assistance?"

"Whoops." I murmur under my breath. "Sorry, wrong number!" I hung up immediately, feeling very embarrassed. "Okay Dawn, don't do that again." My fingers slowly moved from one button to another as I dial May's number, correctly this time. I bring the phone to my ear and waited again until I heard May's voice from the other end of the line.

"Er, Maple residence." She said shakily. "No need to worry, May. It's just me." I replied, laughing quietly to myself. "Oh, Dawn! Sorry about that." She chirped, her voice becoming a lot higher all of a sudden. "Did you want to chat about something?" I nodded even though I knew she couldn't see me. "Yeah, I did." I grew nervous again and heard my heart beating.

"Go on then. What is it?" May asked and I could tell she was very curious. "Okay, okay. Well, I have a bit of a problem..." I began, but the words got stuck in my throat. 'Just say what you said to Ash.' I thought.  
"What, did he ask you out?"

I gasped, but then I grinned. "H-How did you know?!" May laughed loudly. "I'm psychic like that. I'm kidding! Dawn, I don't think it's a 'problem' at all! I knew Ash would ask you eventually."

"Huh?" I muttered, confused. "May... it wasn't Ash." Her voice fell after I said this. "What?" I could picture the look on her face at that moment. "What?!" She repeated, louder this time, and I winced. "Who the hell was it then?" "It was... i-it was," I sighed and decided not to keep her in suspense any longer. "It was Paul." There was silence and it droned on for quite a while. "May, are you still there?"

"Uh-huh..." She said, so quietly that I could barely hear her. "You did not say 'yes', did you? You don't know what he's like, Dawn!" "I did. I'm meeting up with him tonight."

"Tonight?! Look, I'm not fully against this. It's just that he's in none of your classes and it came out of nowhere!" I listened to what she had to say but I kept staring at my calendar the whole time. May spoke about this and that, but she just had to move on to another subject. Ash. "You're still listening, right Dawn?" May asked and I answered half-heartedly with a simple 'yeah'. "Good. Anyway, have you even thought about how Ash must be feeling about all this?"

When I thought about it, I did wonder why his response was so strange. He didn't say a word on the way home either, no matter how hard I tried to stir up a conversation. That's why there's May. To give me the answers to my questions, especially about things like this. "No...Not really," I admitted unhappily, laying down on my back for my eyes to meet with the ceiling.

"Well, maybe you should." She said, her voice sounded calmer. "You know how he feels about you, Dawn. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was Ash instead who asked you out. Your friendship is wonderful, don't let something like this mess it up, okay? I've seen you two, you're both adorable together. I think you'd make a much better couple." She explained and it took me a while to take it all in.

"But Ash doesn't feel that way-" "Don't give me that!" May protested. I couldn't tell whether she was shouting or not. "I just want you to think about it, 'kay Dawn?" "Yeah, I will. Thanks for everything May." I said with a small smile. "If you ever need me, I'm here. Bye Dawn!"

"Wait-"

Beeeeeeeeep...

"She hung up."

A week pasted by and I hadn't gotten a call from Ash ever since the day Paul asked me out. On that note, I've been having a rather nice time with him. The word got around quickly at school but I didn't care. Ursula still seemed to be in a bad mood. I looked around my room. It wasn't that messy, my mom wouldn't mind. I soon heard footsteps coming towards my closed door. It could only be one person. "Dawn, dear...it's 6 o'clock." My mom chimed, poking her head around the door and smiling at me. "6 o'clock?! Oh no...!" I panicked and started rushing about in my room.

I had to be out of the house and on my way to meet Paul at the fountain by 7. My mom thought I was meeting up with Ash, or at least that's what I told her. I still haven't said a word to her about Paul, even though I should. I've managed to not say anything about it for a week now. "It can wait until after I get back.' I thought to myself confidently.

I put my beanie hat on my head and took one last look in the mirror. I've heard from somewhere, or someone, that you shouldn't trust mirrors. It's the best thing I have that I can use to make sure I look okay so it will have to do. I combed my hair with my fingers for a quick moment before I rushed out of the door. "Bye, Mom! See you later!" I shouted, my voice followed by the slam of the door. I was sure she would have said something, like 'be back by 9' or 'be safe'... I could do both of those things so I didn't need reminding for the millionth time. I skipped down the path, becoming more excited with every step. This weird feeling, I hated it but I also loved it as well. The meeting place came to view within a few minutes and a grin appeared on my face.

My pace slowed down as I came to stand by the fountain. I glanced around more than once to see if he was coming. He wasn't. I sighed and waited for a little longer. I told myself over and over that he was taking his time to meet me, or that he is simply a bit late. I don't know if half an hour is classed as 'a bit late'. Five more minutes past and I was about to give and go home. All my excitement had disappeared and now I was feeling lower than the ground at that moment. Sometimes, it's not good to have expectations because there is the fear of being disappointed. I let out one last sigh before walking around from the fountain, turned the opposite way. I kept my head down until I stopped in my tracks to take another look around. I didn't like what I saw at all.

Not far away, I saw Ursula but she was with somebody. I noticed them sitting on a bench together, they looked happy. I crept closer but I wished I hadn't. There was Ursula and... Her 'crush', right? My eyes widened as I continued to watch. What was Paul doing with her?! He was supposed to be meeting me. I looked at my Pokétch and the time was 8:15pm already. I felt shocked no longer and soon became frustrated with both of them. I didn't want to stay but my feet wouldn't move from their place on the grass. It seemed as if Paul had noticed me, but I didn't care. I heard them laughing and saw them talking. I thought about how that should have been me instead. Then it just got worse. They shared a cute little kiss and it made me cringe.

The conversation I'd had with May the week before flew into my mind. I remembered what she had told me. It was a few days ago but I could hear her voice clearly in my head. "You don't know what he's like, Dawn!"

Maybe she was trying to drop a hint that he could easily cheat on me because I don't know him extremely well. I should have listened to her advice and not turned up. I ended up in front of him with someone else. Well, that explained everything. I wasn't going to lash out on the spot, just walk away, but I had a strange feeling inside me. I hated it even more than the first one I had when I came.

I did just walk away eventually, and dragged my feet slowly all the way home. My mom, greeted me when I came through the door but she spotted the expression I had on my face. I strode past the mirror and noticed myself as well.  
"Dawn, what's the matter?" Mom asked, full of concern. I shook my head and kept my head down. "I'll tell you later, Mom." I mumbled, not making eye-contact with her. She sighed quietly and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm here to listen Dawn." She said and it made me feel slightly better. "Ash called earlier, I thought you were with him?"

I shook my head again but didn't say anything. Mom suggested I call him back but something was stopping me from doing that. I made my way upstairs to my room and flopped on my bed. My hand reached for my phone and I touched the screen. I had 8 missed calls, all from Ash I presumed. Maybe it was a good idea to call him back since he rung so many times? I dialed his number and sighed. He answered, of course, but didn't sound very happy.

"Hello?" Ash croaked through the phone. "Ash, it's me. I know we haven't spoken for a while but are you feeling okay?" I asked, suddenly becoming concerned and forgetting about the happenings of earlier for a moment. "Dawn? Oh, I'm fine... no need to worry." He replied but I didn't believe him. "Hey, do you want to, you know, maybe meet up tomorrow?" I offered, twirling a strand of hair around my finger.

"Yes! I mean, sure thing. I'd really like that." He said and he sounded much happier. I smiled. "Okay, at 2 o'clock then?"  
"Yeah, I'll meet you by the lamppost."  
"Great, bye!"

This time, it was my turn to hang up.

So, the next day, I found myself walking to the lamppost. It was the only broken one on our street and I could tell which one it was because Ash and I wrote our names on it when we were younger. I stood underneath it and waited for Ash to show up. I noticed Ash walking towards me and I smiled. My arm raised in the air as I waved to him. Ash looked up and waved back. When he reached me, we high-fived.

"I'm glad you came." I said with an even bigger smile. He nodded. "I missed you Dawn."

"I missed you too, Ash."  
We stared at each other for a while, just gazing into each other's eyes. It didn't feel awkward... it felt good. Ash broke the silence when he spoke. "I heard about... you know, you and Paul." My eyes widened for a split second before a laughed. "Yeah, that's totally over now." "It is? For real?" Ash asked, and I could sense the small part of hopefulness in his voice.

I giggled. "Yes, for real." I assured. Ash smiled, that heartwarming smile. "Telephone?"

"Telephone."

My phone rang in my bag and I took it out. I smiled when I answered it. "Hello?"  
"Hey Dawn." Ash said, even though he was right next to me.

"Hiya Ash!" I chimed happily.

"How are you?"

"Couldn't be better."

"You could be better..."

"How?"

"Dawn?"

There was silence.

"Will you go out with me instead?"

There was silence again.

"Yes! I mean, sure thing. I'd really like that..."

* * *

 **This story was written by Hikatoshi27 and CherryCheer for the pair fanfiction competition in Pearlshippingfest 2014.**

 **Please check them out on fanfiction too, they have awesome stories!**

 **Stay tuned for Ash's POV to this awesome story, coming soon!**

 **Please rate, comment and review**


End file.
